Physicians’ self-perceived preparedness for clinical supervision of medical students at university and non-university hospitals -results from a Swedish survey

BACKGROUND: The need for clinical placements outside traditional teaching hospitals for medical students is growing, both due to a decrease in hospital beds and the expansion of medical students. In this survey, distributed to supervisors at university and non-university hospitals, we investigated supervisors’ self-perceived preparedness for the training assignment and searched for factors associated with self-perceived pedagogical knowledge and familiarity with the students’ learning objectives. METHODS: A pilot survey was developed using results from qualitative studies regarding clinical supervision of medical students and included questions on the supervisors’ education and preparation, if they were familiar with the students’ learning objectives, self-perceived pedagogical knowledge, and characteristics of the learning environment. The pilot survey was tested on a smaller group of supervisors. The results from the pilot survey were used to develop an e-survey that was distributed to all hospital employed physicians in Region Västra Götaland. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 1732 physicians (response rate 43%). Among 517 respondents at the university hospital who reported activity as supervisor, 240 (46%) had attended preparatory supervisor training, 423 (82%) perceived enough pedagogical knowledge for the teaching assignment, and 391 (76%) reported familiarity with the learning objectives. The corresponding proportions at non-university hospitals were 159/485 (33%), 363/485 (75%), and 298/485 (61%), respectively (p ≤ .007 all through, compared to the university hospital). Perceiving that goal description and written information from the course management was sufficient for being able to complete the training assignment showed strong association with both self-perceived pedagogical knowledge and familiarity with the students’ learning objectives. CONCLUSIONS: We found consistent differences between university and non-university hospitals with respect to the supervisors’ self-perceived preparedness for the training assignment. Efforts to convey the learning objectives and support to clinical supervisors are crucial for supervision of students at non-university hospitals.